Simple 5-ingredient whole wheat bread. You just don’t get easier than this no-fail and no-knead recipe! Hearty, wholesome, nourishing and delicious!
You know, I always wanted to be the kind of person who makes their own hummus and bakes their own whole wheat bread. So I’m pretty chuffed that I have become this person!
So now I can feel all wholesome and earth-motherish. Well, at least I would if I had some kiddos other than my two cat babies.
Recently someone was saying to me that they’re ‘eating clean’ now.
And ‘eating clean’ is quite the popular phrase in diet culture. But depending on which diet camp you’ve found yourself, ‘clean’ can have vastly different meanings. Like for some it means eating plenty of meat but cutting out grains and processed foods. And of course that is not at all what it means in the vegan community.
But anyway, I am not a fan of labelling foods like this because it’s a value judgement, like ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Which some can take to extremes and it can lead to eating disorders (not good).
But that being said, lately it can be hard to find a loaf of bread in the store that doesn’t have a heap of junk in it. There is one particular loaf of wholewheat bread that I bought, and we just didn’t get around to eating it (or throwing it out).
However, it was just as perfectly fresh 3 weeks after purchase as it was on the day I brought it home from the store. Hmmm.
So I do like to make some whole wheat bread myself, and when it’s as easy as THIS, then there’s no reason not to! Also check out our other super easy bread recipes, our vegan white bread, vegan soda bread and vegan focaccia.
How To Make Whole Wheat Bread
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
I have literally never come across a recipe as easy as this. It’s just 5-ingredients, and you don’t even have to knead it.
In fact, kneading is out with this recipe. You just throw some whole wheat flour, instant yeast and a little salt to a mixing bowl.
Then mix maple syrup with warm water and then add the wet ingredients to the dry.
Mix in to just combine (no kneading! I’m not going to tell you again you super-keen kneading fan), move it into a greased loaf pan (a little parchment paper on the bottom is also a good idea), cover it and leave it to rise for 20 minutes.
It does all its rising before it even hits the oven. So the height it is when it goes in is pretty much the height it is when it comes out.
Put it into the oven and bake for 40 minutes. And bingo you have freshly baked bread!
Who Needs A Bread Machine?
I mean really I don’t think it could be easier even if you used a bread machine. Well, I’ve never used a bread machine so I can’t really compare, but with a recipe as easy as this, who needs a bread machine?
Well, don’t quote me on that, maybe I’ll get one, one of these days. I do like nifty little appliances.
And the BEST thing about baking your own whole wheat bread is your whole house smells delicious and you get to eat it warm from the oven.
Serving Suggestions
I mean really if you don’t feel like cooking, just make a loaf of this (it barely counts as ‘cooking’ it’s too easy), and serve it with a huge salad, maybe some roasted garlic hummus and avocado and various other toppings and dinner is done and dusted!
Of course it goes immensely well with any homemade soups too! So if you’re having a delicious vegan potato leek soup or vegan tomato soup or vegan lentil soup for dinner, then this is going to be awesome for dipping.
Recipe Variations
This recipe is very versatile and has worked great when we’ve switched up the flours. We have tried this recipe as follows and all have worked out great:
- 4 cups whole wheat flour
- 3 cups whole wheat flour, 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups whole wheat flour, 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour, 3 cups all purpose flour
- 4 cups all purpose flour
Make It Gluten-Free
It even works with a gluten-free all purpose flour blend. I find that adding a tablespoon or two of olive oil (at the same time as the other wet ingredients) makes the gluten-free version come out softer.
Storing Tips
It’s best when very fresh (the day of making it) but it will keep for a couple of days in a closed container and it also makes very delicious toast!
You can freeze it, and that’s best done on the day of baking to lock in the freshness. If you freeze it on the second or third day then you can use it for toast straight from the freezer.
Want Some Toppings For Your Whole Wheat Bread?
- Homemade Vegan Butter
- Homemade Peanut Butter
- Homemade Cashew Butter
- Homemade Almond Butter
- Simple Vegan Guacamole
- Creamy Avocado Hummus
And for more breads, check out our vegan cornbread, vegan banana bread and our easy vegan dinner rolls!
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Easy No-Fail Whole Wheat Bread
Ingredients
- 4 cups Whole Wheat Flour (520g)
- 1 Packet Instant Yeast 2 ¼ teaspoons
- ½ tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Maple Syrup
- 2 cups Warm Water (480ml)
Instructions
- Add the flour to a mixing bowl with the yeast and salt and mix together.
- Dissolve the maple syrup in the warm water and then add to the dry ingredients.
- Mix – don’t knead – until you have a sticky well combined dough.
- Transfer to a greased 9×5 loaf pan. You can also line the bottom with parchment paper if you think there will be any chance of it sticking.
- Cover and leave to rise for 20 minutes.
- While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C).
- After 20 minutes* when the dough has risen, bake in the oven for 40 minutes.
- Absolutely BEST when fresh, but will keep for a day or two in a closed container. After which you can make the most delicious toast.
Video
Notes
- Weigh your flour for the most accurate results.
- Maple syrup can be replaced by another sweetener such as agave nectar or other syrup.
- If your dough hasn’t quite risen as high as mine in the picture at the 20 minute mark then leave it a couple more minutes, sometimes it takes a couple of minutes longer to get to the perfect height, but don’t leave it too long or it will rise too high and then you’ll get a muffin top loaf!
- Prep time includes the 20 minutes spent rising.
M Flynn says
Can I use honey instead of maple syrup?
Alison Andrews says
Sure!
Al Martens says
Very heavy but absolutely delicious. I used 3 tbsp of yeast but the bread barely rose.
I still loved it and will do it again. Any suggestions on how to get it to rise more?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Al, I would get a fresh batch of yeast, because it usually rises very well.
Al Martens says
I heated the water to 106 F and allowed the yeast and water and raw organic cane sugar to sit in it for about 8 minutes until it was really bubbling. I had just bought the yeast from a supermarket that just got it in. The best before date is mid 2022. Then I added the raw ingredients and mixed thoroughly.
Put dough into pans and allowed to sit for about 17 minutes on warm stovetop. It rose much better this time.
This recipe is sooo easy. I love it. I’ve baked bread for nearly fifty years off and on. More off than on because I used to through the double kneading. Thanks to you, I’m regularly baking.
Still have to do some tweaking as far as timing is concerned, but I’ll figure it out.
Mel Kitson says
I have used this recipe a number of times with different variations. I have found that leaving it for 5 minutes over and above the 20 minutes rising time works best for me. The bread is airier and less compact. My compliments and thanks for providing a fabulous, quick and easy way to make delicious loaves.
Barnaby Green says
Thanks for this. I was concerned as my bread did not rise AT ALL during the 20 minute rest but it did in the oven and came out with a good crusty top if a little doughy in the centre (best for toast).
Unfortunately the base is as resilient as the floor pan on a Humvee (chainsaw and arc welder required).
My yeast was possibly past it’s sell-by date which would explain the lack of rising initially so chucked out `and I’ll use new and fresh for next attempt. Oh, and I used Date Syrup (by Meridian?) which definitely deemed to add a nice extra punch to the flavour. Onwards…:-)
Alison Andrews says
Hi there, yes the yeast was probably not good, you should have seen at least some rise in 20 minutes. Oh and date syrup is awesome, love that stuff!
Victoria Brattoli says
The recipe was easy to follow and the bread came out beautifully. This was my first time making bread and I have a few questions. Is it supposed to be incredibly dense, almost too dense? How can I make it less dense? Finally, it could be my oven, but the crust was a little too crispy (on the harder side) should I be baking it for 30-35 minutes instead? Otherwise, the bread is delicious, I had it with vegan butter and blueberry preserves for breakfast, it was yummy and VERY filling haha.
Alison Andrews says
It is dense but not super dense, I think you can see from the photos. I think if it was incredibly dense it may be a case of a bit too much flour OR a bit too much mixing (if you over-mix the batter it will make the bread more dense). I don’t think reducing the baking time is a good idea, but you could make sure the oven isn’t running too hot (we use an oven thermometer).
Sarah says
I LOVE this recipe! I like making bread but rarely do it because of how long it takes. Not anymore! I had leftover pastry flour, and decided to take a leap – it was marvelous! Not sure if this would happen with a more stout flour, but my dough was very wet – nowhere near normal firm bread dough. Didn’t matter – it rose quickly and came out beautiful and delicious after exactly 40 minutes! Thank you so much for this recipe – it’s so easy that I made another loaf today while making lunch. Can’t wait to experiment with seasonal spices and other additions. We won’t be buying bread anymore!
Alison Andrews says
So glad you enjoyed it Sarah! And yes the dough is very wet, you wouldn’t be able to knead it even if you wanted to! So it sounds exactly right. 🙂
Brenda says
I have made this 4 times and absolutely love it, in order to get it to rise decently I had to up the temp of warm water to 120 degrees and I add everything bagel seasoning to the top. Can’t recommend this recipe enough
Holly says
Hi there,
I’m wondering if this would work with active rise yeast instead?
Alison Andrews says
If you read the other comments others have used it successfully.
Susan says
I can’t believe how good this bread is, and it’s 100% whole wheat. I’m definitely going to make it regularly. I love the idea of using it as is, or adding nut, berries, seeds, etc.
Thank you so much!
Kelly says
I added cranberries and sunflower seeds to this and it tastes amazing. Wonderful and easy healthy recipe, my toddler loves it as well. this is a great recipe to add superfoods to my daughter’s diet in a way i know she will love but still keep it low on salt and sugar
Lauren says
After many failed attempts to make a whole wheat bread to replace the store bought breads that have refined sugar and scary additives I’m glad to have found a recipe that works. It’s so easy. Thank you for this recipe.
Linda Orowitz says
This bread is delicious. The first time I made it I could not believe how easy and delicious it was.
My only problem, it stuck to the pan. I now line the pan with non-stick aluminum foil and it pops out perfectly. I looks beautiful with poppy and white sesame seeds on top, but they tend to fall off. Sunflower seeds stick better and add the most taste.
I slice it, and wrap it in 2x’s and put in a freezer bag (of course, not all of it makes it to the freezer, it’s delicious warm). I hard to believe it has no added oil and little salt and tastes this good.
Sofia says
Absolute favorite! Since I discovered it, many months ago, maybe a year? I bake it twice a week and we stopped buying bread at our house. Simple, fast, healthy and delicious. By mistake, I have been putting 1 1/2 tbsp of yeast (just checked again and saw it’s 1 tbsp). I was wondering how come mine rises so much more! I will try it with 1, but I have been enjoying it with 11/2 too, so might not change that. Thank you for this recipe!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome Sofia! Thanks so much for sharing and glad to hear the extra yeast has been working out great!
Jennie Holland says
Hi Alison,
I have made this bread a dozen times and can’t tell you how much I enjoy making this.
It is the easiest whole wheat bread ever. So thank you very much for sharing.
If any one is interested, over time I have made some changes to make this a heavy, very earthy bread.
Replace 1/4 cup of the flour with cracked wheat.
Add 1 1/2 tbs of chia seeds
Add 3 tbs of raw unsalted sunflower seeds
Add 1 1/2 tbs of toasted sesame seeds
Add 3 tbs of unsweetened coconut
I increased the water to 2 and 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup of that is orange juice.
Leave to rise for 30 minutes in the oven with only the light on.
Then take it out, preheat oven as directed etc.
Again, thank you to Alison, you’ve inspired me to bake:)
Alison Andrews says
Thanks for sharing Jennie!
Abhilasha says
Hi, thank you for sharing this recipe..I’m making it right now and had a doubt. If I halve the ingredients since I have just that much flour(2 cups), do I need to halve the baking time too?
Alison Andrews says
It really depends on the size of your dish. If you’re still using a 9×5 loaf pan then it will bake much faster and you will need to reduce the baking time.
Tomer says
Just came back to say: WOW! WOW! WOW!
This is hysterical!
I want to tell anyone who is skeptic like i was – THIS RECIPE IS A KEEPER!
Thank you so much.